Friday, December 20, 2013

First Black Master in Kentucky

A local lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of Kentucky, known as Freemasons, will welcome a new leader.

Rick Searcy will become the first black master of a Freemason lodge in Kentucky and, possibly, in the Southeast, he said. He will be installed Saturday at Ensor Lodge No. 729. Seating will begin at 1 p.m., and the ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. The lodge, with 140 registered members, is at Kentucky 142 and Kentucky 144. The ceremony and dinner are free and open to the public.

6 comments:

Victor Marshall, was Worshipful Master of Gate City Lodge No. 2 from December 2012 until December 2013. Many of you will remember the lawsuit which was filed against the Grand Lodge of Georgia in 2009 whereby his removal, as well as the surrender of the Lodge Charter, was sought by, not just ill-informed Brethren, but some "higher ups" as well. He is the first Black F& AM Worshipful Master in Georgia - and probably the Southeast.

I agree with Brother Pettys; I was one of Worshipful Marshall's advocates during that time back in 2009 and he has rendered good service as a Mason since. But of this post, I am becoming concerned that we are making too big a thing out of this matter. Whether it is in Georgia or Kentucky, we as Masons should recognize a brother regardless of his color; that is why Gate City Lodge has been ennobled in its actions. As Masons, we should not concern ourselves with the color of that Master's skin, but instead acknowledge that a brother, through his own good labors, has been elevated by his brethren to the office of Worshipful Master (and oh yeah, he happens to be black). We as Masons should stand up to any injustice we know to be within our gentle Craft but we should also be modest in our regular practices, so let us not dwell too much on what we know to be proper practices lest we take away from its good works. I congratulate each of our brethren who have been elevated by their Lodge to serve as Worshipful Master (to include our brother in Kentucky) for the ensuing year and I wish each of us well. My humble opinion of course...

While I entirely agree with your comments, we must also realize that this is of some importance. Race is still an issue within the walls of the fraternity, and when the day comes that it can be something in the past, long forgotten as the errors of past ways, then I believe this type of headline will be obsolete.

Freemasonry is...

Freemasonry is the world's largest, oldest and best-known gentleman's fraternity. It is based on the medieval stonemason guilds who built the great castles and cathedrals of Europe. Modern Freemasons use the tools, traditions and terminology of those stonemasons as allegories for building temples in the hearts of men. It's said that we are a secret society. We do indeed have secrets—secrets that each individual man has to discover for and about himself. It's not for everybody. Maybe it's for you.

"Brother Chris Hodapp's [blog]...is thought provoking and is often the first place on the web where new ideas and matters of interest are posted."

Christopher L. Hodapp is the former editor of the "Journal of The Masonic Society." He is the author of the best-selling "Freemasons For Dummies," and "Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C."
He is the co-author with Alice Von Kannon of "The Templar Code For Dummies" and "Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies For Dummies."
He has appeared on the History and Discovery channels on the subject of Freemasonry, its role in the founding of the United States and the building of Washington D.C.
Hodapp has spent more than twenty years editing, writing and directing as a commercial filmmaker. He has written for corporate and non-profit programs, and his voice has appeared in many television and radio commercials.
His newest book, "Deciphering the Lost Symbol," was published in 2010.
He is a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Freemason, and he lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.